Happy Holidays

Christmas was extra magical this year. For the first time Jake got into Christmas songs, Santa clause, and presents. (Well actually Jake liked to talk about Santa clause but not visit Santa clause. We waited in line 45 minutes so Jake could sit on Santa's lap, but when it was our turn Jake SCREAMED and yelled scary, scary!) Nonetheless Jake got what he wanted from Santa a big Thomas the train set. Although I am not sure who has more fun with it, Erich or Jake :) It's a great bonding thing for them.

We spent the holidays in Utah with Erich's family. Erich's one sister has five kids and they really helped get Jake pumped for Christmas. There is nothing like Christmas morning with lots of kids.

Since we had so much family gathered together we blessed McKinley. It's a good thing we had the blessing when we did because she has just about grown out of her dress!

Welcome Winter

I love winter--it means time for skiing and sledding and the years best holidays! To kick off the season Erich and I went to Park City for the ski swap. If you need gear this is the place to go--plus it is a whole new kind of shopping experience. The first night of the swap runs from 8pm to 1 am. People from all over come to this event. We showed up an hour early and the line was already several hundred yards long, people had been camped out in line for hours. It was hard to imagine there would be any gear left by the time we got in but there was plenty. We were quite the spectacle with a month old baby and 2 year old.
Anyhow both Erich and I bought new skate skis which we are really excited to try out--and I don't think we'll have to wait long as the snow has been coming. Last year we thought Twin Falls was just lots warmer than MT or Northern Idaho because we had no snow but we were wrong...we've had snow on the ground for a couple of weeks now and it just keeps on coming!
Anyhow last weekend we got the kids all bundled up and went outside to play. After what seemed like an hour of bundling kids up in snow gear we finally headed out on McKinley's first ski trip. She did great--fell right asleep in her little backpack. And Jake helped us look for a Christmas tree. It's a lot harder having two kids and we didn't make it terribly far but it was fun to get out and start the ski season. I think we will make it a tradition to ski back in the woods to find a tree. (Yes they do have trees in Twin Falls...if you drive far enough up into the hills!)
Anyhow hopefully there will be more winter fun posts coming.

Oh yeah, and one more little detail...our family got even bigger! We, or I should say Erich decided we needed a pointer (a special kind of hunting dog for those unfamiliar with hunting) so we bought a very cute little German Shorthair puppy we named Gauge. I was petrified at first but it has actually been lots of fun. Jake LOVES having a little puppy and puppy loves harassing Jake so it's lots of fun!

Everything is Delayed these days

I know Halloween is old news now, but it is taking me longer to do everything now, so here is my late Halloween update. We had lots of fun with our adorable little puppy Jake. He was so excited to be a dog, when we took him to the mirror so he could see what he looked like he just smiled and smiled, and then barked! I'm traditionally not that festive but trying to be better now that I have kids so we went to the corn maze, picked a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, carved pumpkins, and even made pumpkin (or kind-of pumpkin looking) sugar cookies. Erich and I got a good laugh out of Jake's cookie, every inch of that cookie was covered with 3 layers of m&m's. Have we mentioned that our little guy has quite the sweet tooth!
The best part was trick or treating with Jake. he was very good at saying Trick or Treat and Thank You.

We didn't dress up McKinley this year, maybe next but here are a few new pics. My good friend came down from Grangeville and spoiled me by taking some pics (these aren't hers but mine that I was taking behind the scenes).

The first few weeks

We've had lots of fun with grandma and grandpa and little McKinley joining the household. Mother nature has been spoiling us with good weather so we've been sneaking up to the mountains for some bird hunting (erich) ATVing and open fire cooking. McKinley has been a great sport. I just can't believe she is growing as much as she is! There are not enough hours in the day to cuddle the snuggly little girl, and she is one cuddle bug. She is also quite the grunter and squealer. It's hard to get too much sleep with her around. Anyhow I thought I would post some more pics of her.

It's been a long time coming....

Well it seems like it was a very long nine months but our little girl FINALLY arrived on Tuesday, October 12, 2010, though she wasn't TOO little as she weighed a whopping 8 lbs. 10 oz. She is 20" long and we decided to name her McKinley Jo Gleckler!
Although we think she is as sweet as can be she really surprised us with all that hair and chunkiness. She looks absolutely nothing like Jake and we can't really relate her to anyone else in the family but we sure think she is cute.

Thankfully both sets of grandparents have come in to help out. Before McKinley came, Erich's family came and got Jake and McKinley's rooms put together and us all ready for the big addition. Then Kara's parents came the day before McKinley was born to help out with Jake (perfect timing). Gotta love grandparents.

Kara came home from the hospital on Wednesday morning and we have wasted no time introducing McKinley to the great outdoors of Idaho. We've been to the mountains for a dutch oven dinner and 4 wheeling (don't worry Kara sat out the 4wheeling part) and down to the fish hatchery and park by the river. McKinely is a great little traveler. She sleeps all day...only problem is she is awake a lot of the night. Hopefully she'll get her days and nights figured out here soon. Other than not sleeping at nights she really is such a sweet and good baby. We feel so lucky to have her!

Our little guy is seeming not so little now

It's hard to believe but we celebrated Jake's 2nd birthday last week. He was VERY excited about the presents and blowing out the candles...he didn't care so much about the cake (surprise, surprise). His favorite toy was definitely his helicopter which he insisted taking to bed with him. Nothing like cuddling a hard plastic toy! He is seeming older these days. He is saying and understanding so much more each and every day. It's a pretty fun stage right now. We are trying to enjoy the last days as a family of 3 (plus a dog).

You Lose some to gain some

So summers are always a little sad because Erich is gone so much fighting fire. This year has been no exception. For most of July Erich was crazy busy hopping from one fire to the next. Thankfully to help break up the loneliness Jake and I got to attend a lot of extended family visits. It started with a quick Saturday visit with my sister in law and her boy Rhone who were visiting Idaho from Delaware. Rhone and Jake are only a few months apart and it's fun now that they are interacting more! They were impressive little sharers from capri suns to high fives to sun glasses!

Next up was the infamous Harker Reunion. My mother has 12 brothers and sisters and every year they have big reunion where approximately 200 aunts uncles and cousins and second cousins get together. One of my fondest childhood memories was attending these reunions where I got to hang out with my best friend, my cousin Chelsea. Now that we are older it is still fun to get together and watch our kids become buds. Her little boys are just the sweetest little guys to Jake and Jake adores them! And of course its fun to see a bunch of crazy aunts and uncles. They had a mustache growing contest, pinatas, a giant slip and slide and lots of other random fun.


After the Grand Harker Reunion we had the Reid reunion with my brothers and sisters. It was the first time our family had everyone together (minus Erich) for 3 years. Everyone spoiled me and came to Twin Falls for a couple of days and then we went up to a cabin we rented on Lake Pallisades. It was chaotic and loud and involved a week of very little sleep for a pregnant woman, but it was wonderful. I just love boating and being out on the water; it sure beat sitting behind a computer all day!

After the reunion I met up with my parent for a more quiet and peaceful weekend boating and hiking Jackson Lake. If you haven't been you need to go. It is quite possibly one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. I really treasure the time I get to go camping and boating with my parents. The best part of it all is hearing how excited Jake gets to see his papa and grandma.

And no I'm not quite done. After that my niece and her friend came to stay at my house for a week while they attended EFY, and my in-laws came up to spoil their grandson.

Sadly that wraps up the big family hoopla. At least now Erich is home for a few days, hopefully more.

IT'S A . . .

So for those of you who are still traumatized from our posting two years ago (yes I know it is a hard image to get out of the mind) we thought we would take it easy on you all and post a picture of my clothed tummy instead of Erich's hunkalicious bare tummy :)

With that said we are very happy to announce we are expecting a baby GIRL a mid October. Sorry for the delayed announcement, the reality of it all is still sinking in. However, W=we are very excited to add a new little Gleckler to the family. (By "we" I am not necessarily including Jake; I'm a little nervous for his reaction). Things are going relatively well; I'm glad its is only two more months of pregnancy but I'm grateful I've been as healthy as I have been.

Well more to come soon!

Summer Fun

Fourth of July was quite entertaining with Jake. He had no problem staying up for the firework show with all the excitement that was going on. He mastered the word "boom boom" and is still using it a week later anytime he hears a big noise. In nursery Sunday the teacher mentioned the word fire in her lesson and Jake shouted out "boom boom!"
The Fourth was extra fun this year because we got to spend it with my sister and her family. My nephew came home from his mission and my niece got baptized so it certainly was a weekend of celebration. Erich had to work all but Sunday but he managed to come over and meet us for the firework show--Jake was very happy his dad could join in on the fun. And of course no visit with teenage girls would have been complete without a little bit of shopping and a viewing of the new Twilight movie!

Beyond fourth of July we've been having a pretty lazy summer. One of my favorite things about Twin Falls are the hot sunny days. Jake and I spend most of our evenings in the backyard playing with his water toys or teeball. It's funny just a few months ago I was a little concerned that Jake wasn't more into sports--I had no need to worry--it's now literally hours of baseball a day. I think he has a bit of an obsessive personality....I wonder where he gets that from ? ! ?

When you have kids things change

Well I never imagined myself being an ATV girl...I have always been more of an outdoor purist if you will, but I must admit having an ATV rocks with kids. The last two weekends Erich and I have gone out exploring the mountains on the ATV an no one in the family enjoys the trips more than Jake. It's a great way to explore lots of country and to get up into the trees. We had a great little fire in a pretty meadow. It's fun to watch Jake discover new things. The marshmellow roasting was quite interesting...he preferred using the marshmellow to draw in the dirt as opposed to roasting and eating!